Donald Trump’s recent meeting with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki was a sad spectacle! Trump was completely OUTCLASSED!!! It was like watching a heavy-weight boxer in the ring with a fly-weight! Of course, I am not talking about physical size as Fat Donnie is much taller and his blubbery body looks swollen beside Putin’s fit physique. It is in the intellectual realm that Putin towers over Trump!

We got a hint of what was likely to happen when we saw that Putin was equipped with a pad and pencil and Trump’s hands was as empty as his head! When they appeared to issue statements on the meeting the extent to which Trump was outclassed became glaringly obvious. Putin’s statement was authoritative, broadly knowledgeable and delivered with ease; like a person who was really on top of his material.

Trump on the other hand was vague, hyperbolic in his praise of Putin and Russia, dismissive of US intelligence agencies and the press, and haltingly read from a text that sounded like it was written by Putin’s intelligence officer…which the translator probably was! Trump came across as a colossal dunce, a Russian dupe, or an American President committing treason before the world….I think it was all three. In fact. I believe what went on in that meeting was that Putin gave “The Moscow Candidate” his marching orders!

As bizarre as this may sound it is also the view of Malcolm Nance, former military counter-intelligence operative and author of two best selling books . The first analyzes the role of Russian military intelligence in subverting the US presidential election with the objective of insuring a Trump victory, “The Hacking of America,” and “The Plot to Destroy Democracy.” his second book dealing with efforts by the Russians to dismantle western democracies through cyber-warfare.
In an interview on WNBC, where he is a regular commentator on national security issues, Nance offered this uncanny prediction about Trump’s behavior in his forthcoming Summit with Putin:

“He’s just gonna lay down…we already know that based on his past statements. And he’s correct; he has been preparing for this his entire life for this…he went to the Soviet in 1987 trying to get Trump hotels. We know that he was taking Russian money and selling real estate to them For years. We also know that in 2013 he met with the top 12 Russian Oligarchs and received their version of events for over two hours and have been spouting it ever since.”

The prescience of Nance’s prediction is borne out by the response of Republican officials to Trump’s public genuflection before Vlad the Deceiver. Senator John McCain, a senior statesman of the party, described Trumps actions as:”“one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.” Senator Marco Rubio said Trump’s assessment of Russia was “not based in reality,” and his comments were “counterproductive, dangerous, and will fail.” And House Speaker Paul Ryan – who has displayed the spine of a jelly fish when commenting on Trump’s myriad failings and transgressions – remarked

But the most devastating criticism came from Texas Congressman Will Hurd, who asserts in a July 19, Op-Ed in the New York Times:

“Over the course of my career as an undercover officer in the C.I.A., I saw Russian intelligence manipulate many people. I never thought I would see the day when an American president would be one of them. The president’s failure to defend the United States intelligence community’s unanimous conclusions of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and condemn Russian covert counterinfluence campaigns and his standing idle on the world stage while a Russian dictator spouted lies confused many but should concern all Americans. By playing into Vladimir Putin’s hands, the leader of the free world actively participated in a Russian disinformation campaign that legitimized Russian denial and weakened the credibility of the United States toour foes abroad.”

The question thoughtful Americans who are paying attention are asking is: “What’s really going on with Donald Trump?” Not only has he insulted his American critics with a variety of insults including giving them demeaning nicknames, and trashed some of America’s oldest allies, but he has consistently refused to insult Vlad The Deceiver nor admit the full extend of Russian interference in our presidential election. For instance, even after the Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller issued a detailed 29 page indictment against 13 Russian military intelligence operatives, Trump continued to dismiss the investigation as “a witch hunt.”

Trump’s charge was so outrageous it prompted a spirited defense of the integrity of US intelligence products from Dan Coates, the Director of National Intelligence and Richard Burr, the Republican Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. “We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing,” says Coates. “pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy, and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security.”

Senator Burr was equally clear in his disagreement with the President’s actions. “Vladimir Putin is not our friend and never has been. Nor does he want to be our friend. His regime’s actions prove it. We must make clear that the United Stateswill not tolerate hostile Russian activities against us or our allies.”

Even more damming is the contention by Congressman Hurd in his Op-Ed:“Moreover, the threat of Russian meddling in United States elections is not behind us. Just last week, Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, cautioned that “the warning lights are blinking red” that Russia and other adversaries will undertake further cyberattacks on our digital infrastructure. This includes many of the energy companies in my home district in South and West Texas. Make no mistake, Russian disinformation campaigns are working.”

This Op-Ed is well worth the reading by all concerned US citizens, because this Congressman, a Republic who sits on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, offers both a candid assessment of the President’s failings in dealing with Russian intrusions into the US electoral process, and also recommends a number of measures to prevent it.

The most important of these recommendations are spelled out in this statement:“Additionally, Congress must act to give the men and women of our intelligence agencies the tools they need to confront Moscow and prevent this from happening in the future. We can start by sending the Intelligence Authorization Act to the president’s desk, which authorizes funding to support critical national security programsacross the intelligence community. It also requires regular public reports on foreign threats to federal election campaigns before those elections take place, mandatory notification to Congress within 14 days after a determination has been made with moderate or high confidence that a foreign cyberintrusion or active measures campaign to influence a federal election has taken place, and reports to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees on past and continuing Russian influence campaigns.”

The ongoing Russian interference in US politics is well established by our intelligence agencies, yet despite some good suggestions as to strategies for effectively combating this covert Cyber-war, the Republicans have thus far been mostly blow and no go. They appear to be paralyzed with terror at the possibility that the tweeting twit in the Oval Office will publicly crucify them on Twitter.

After all, the most recent polls show that “The Donald” has over 80% support in their party. Trump’s behavior prompted Malcolm Nance to conclude that his foreign policy is dictated from Moscow and ridicules the idea that a clueless ignoramus like Trump could have been doing anything but receiving instructions from a seasoned KGB officer and master political strategist like Putin during their two and a half hour secret meeting:”I think he has been co-opted by Russia…I think he works in the interests of Russia!”

Yet, despite mounting evidence of treason, no Republican member of the House or Senate seems willing to put the interests of the country over their personal political prospects and take steps to remove this traitorous charlatan from office. Hence Trump’s disgrace is also their own!